Eastleigh’s road to the play-offs hit a speed bump in a dramatic 3-3 draw with Aldershot, where their superior set-pieces were cancelled out by late equalisers in the National League Hampshire derby.

Charlie Carter opened the scoring after 12 minutes with a close range finish, and Ousseynou Cisse doubled Eastleigh’s lead before the twenty minute mark by heading in a cross from a free kick.

Jack Barham got one back for Aldershot - and despite Gerry McDonagh putting Eastleigh two ahead from a set-piece scramble - second half goals from Corey Jordan and Tahvon Campbell saw the sides unseperated.

A loud, bumper crowd of 3,558 did not have to wait long for a goal, as a brilliant diagonal pass switched the play to Alfie Lloyd on the left side, who then crossed the ball to Danny Whitehall.

Eastleigh’s top scorer did not shoot though, laying the ball off just in front of the penalty spot to Carter, who smashed it into the side netting for his eighth goal of the season.

Just seven minutes later, Alfie Lloyd’s relentless running won Eastleigh a free kick on the edge of the area, and Whitehall’s floated delivery was headed in by the captain Cisse.

Aldershot were determined not to let the game slip away from them - Barham pulled one back when he pressured a poor clearance and scored his first goal for Aldershot with a 25-yard strike that cannoned in off of the post.

But McDonagh finished a dramatic first half with another set-piece goal for Eastleigh’s third, firing underneath a crowd of blue and white players after getting the ball at his feet in a back post scramble.

The away side came out stronger after the break, and within five minutes, an off-balance Corey Jordan reignited the game - he was unmarked in the penalty box and scored on the turn with a finesse shot that nestled into the bottom right corner.

Lloyd missed a massive chance to kill off the game at the hour mark, when he robbed the ball in the penalty box, rounded the goalkeeper and skied his shot over the open goal.

Tahvon Campbell finally levelled the score in the 87th minute, and despite the Eastleigh players and fans believing that Langston was fouled in the build-up, the Aldershot striker's leaping last-gasp header secured the draw.

Eastleigh: McDonnell, Maghoma, Carter, Cisse, Whitehall, Langston, McKiernan, Harper, Rutherford, Lloyd (Mitchell, 72), McDonagh (Hill, 72)

Unused subs: Kelly, Atangana, Martin

Booked: Carter, Cisse, Harper

Aldershot: Ashby-Hammond, Harfield (McQuoid, 86), Partington (Kenlock, 62), Cordner, Amaluzor, Campbell, Jordan, Ochieng, Mnoga, Glover, Barham

Unused subs: Rowe, Hutchinson, Klass

Referee: Lloyd Wood